US backs Amnesty in sedition case, says it supports right to freedom of expression

Washington: The United States has backed Amnesty International after a sedition case was registered against the global rights group in Bengaluru for hosting a Kashmir event where alleged anti-India slogans were raised.

People lighting candles at the Amnesty International India's event. AP

State Department Deputy Spokesperson Mark Toner said that US supported the right to freedom of expression for anyone, including the Amnesty.

"With Amnesty International, I'm sorry. Well, we obviously, as we do around the world, support the right to freedom of expression and assembly, including through civil society," Toner told reporters on Monday.

He was asked about the sedition charge against the group in India after they staged an event called 'Broken Families' on the situation of different families in Kashmir.

Toner said the State Department was aware of the reports that police in Bengaluru have "initiated preliminary investigation into allegations of sedition against Amnesty International.

"I direct you to the police for more details into this investigation, but certainly we, as I said, respect the right for Amnesty and others to express themselves freely."

The remarks came a day after Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara said he had "not given any clean chit" to the rights group. He had earlier said the group was not involved in anti-national activities though some anti-India slogans were raised by some participants at the event at United Theological College in the city on 13 August.

Amnesty organised the programme that had an interactive discussion on peace and justice in Kashmir and where three families from the strife-torn valley shared alleged human rights violations back home.

Police registered the complaint after Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad's (ABVP) alleged that Amnesty representatives and other participants had indulged in anti-national slogans and criticised the role of the Indian Army in Jammu and Kashmir.

ABVP is the student wing of the BJP, which leads the National Democratic Alliance government in New Delhi, and has been at the forefront of several protests against perceived anti-national activities.